The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for keeping and displaying photographic images. More particularly, the present invention relates to the storage of digital photographic images in portable devices that may, for example, be carried in a wallet or purse.
Photographs, since their inception, have always had a special place in society. They provide a means for capturing special moments and/or places in people's lives, or are utilized in commercial applications to better explain things where “a picture is worth a thousand words.” In today's society, the immense growth of digital photography and the Internet has caused explosion the storage and transmission of photographic images. For example, it is now common for pictures of newborn children to be displayed on a family website only hours after the birth has occurred. In other instances, family photographs are exchanged as e-mail attachments to family members in different parts of the world.
While the use of the Internet and digital images has made it easier to distribute photographic images, such techniques have not been able to address the problem of having photographs in one's possession at any place and at any time. For example, when a purse or wallet is open, there is typically one or more family photographs. The photos are often old and worn because they may simply be in a stack. In other circumstances, one of the pictures may be displayed all of the time behind a transparent piece of plastic, however, these windows also yellow and appear to lose some of their transparency over time. Moreover, every time the user wants to show the pictures to someone else, they must be pulled out of the purse or wallet. This results in additional wear and tear on the pictures.
It should also be noted that pictures are commonly developed in larger sizes than wallet size, such as, for example, four inches by six inches. When someone wants to keep a particular picture in their possession, they either cut the larger picture to fit the wallet, or they must take the negative to a photo processor and have a wallet-sized print made. In view of the difficulty in getting proper “wallet-sized” pictures, the pictures in the purse or wallet typically become quickly outdated, and often are never replaced.
For at least the above reasons, it is an object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus that enable people to easily carry multiple photographic images.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for storing and displaying photographic images in which the images can easily be updated.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for storing and displaying a fixed set of photographic images.